Thermostatic circuit-controller.



W. H KIRNAN. THEEMOSTATH} CIRCUIT CONTROLLER.

APPLICATION FILED PC6117, 1909.

936,972. r I r Patented Aug. 10, 1909.

UNITED STATES ILLIAM H. KIRNAN, or BAYONNE, NEwiER'sEYf TrmRMos'rA'rIo'cIRoUI'r-ooN'r oLLERQ origi -a1 application filed November 7, 1908,Serial lac-[461,452. Dividedand.

l 1909. Serial No. 478,347.

all whom it-mat concern." I Be it known that I, "ILLIAM H. K'IR- xax, acitizen ofthe United States, residing at Bayonne; count-y ofgHudson,State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Thermostatic Circuit-Controllers; of which the following is in thecondition of the "circuit.

thereby.

It further has for its ob ect tofprovide a thermostatic controller witha semaphore so as to indicate whether or not the thermostat has beenactuated so as to ary the circuit, and consists of thefeatur'hereinafter v described and re ferred to in the claims;

The following isa description of apparatus embodying my invention,reference being had to the accompanying drawing, which shows inperspectlye a thermostat circuit controller together with a circuitcontrolled Referrlng more'particularly to thedraw- "ings, and 2 are twomembers'ofa thermo- 4 stat consist-mg preferably of zinc ,or steel andhard rubber strips, connected at the top and supported by a bracket 3vand having their lower ends connected together.

- by reason of gravity'but preferably have The members so connectedconstitute athermostat ic couple and actuate a toothed mem-, her 4. Upontlns toothed member are two 'pawls 5 and J6 pivotally .1nounted'in insuQlating hearings in a yoke 7. This yoke is pivotally supported'at S andhas a slot at its lowerend .throug-hflwhich' passes a screw 9,1sothatthe yoke may be adjusted clrcum- I ferentially about the :j'pivotalsupport 8 The pawls 5 and 6 act quickly and positively j springextensions 10Yandj1l which are-en;

gaged by adjusting'screws 12 and .13, so as to tend to' keep the forwardends of the pawls in engagement with thetoothed memberi-t, and renderthe action. still quicker.

One of the pawls hasfan adjustable contact screw 14 the lower ofg-wliichengages 1 I Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug-.10, 1e09,

cumstances hereinafter described,

The two pawls 5 and 6 and the rack j a 'fe so proportioned and locatedrelatively to one 1 another that'the pawls are out of step, that pawls5and '6 esc apefrom theteeth H with which they engage atdiiferenttimes.Hien the pawl fiengages the first tooth, as shown in Fig. 1, the partsareso'related that as the escapefrom its tooth first. This causes thecontact 14 toengage the pawl (Sand form an electrical connection betweenthe two paw ls' so as to vary the conditioii of an electric cirpawls51nd (3. After thepawl 5has escaped -the first tooth of the rack 4 andso long 'as the pawlfti is still engaging the 'third tooth,

pawls. If the rack l is moved still farther to the right, the "firstaction will be for the tween the contact 14 and the pawl t3. the pawl 5being supported by the secbnd tooth. As the toothed member 4 moves stillfarther .to the right, so that-the pawl .5 escapes the second tooth, theelectrical engagement between the two pawls is made again and is brokenwhen the pawl 6 escapes thefourt-h tooth.

further repeatedupona v further niovenient of thefpawls acts asa"detentto"pr ei'enttl1e toothed member from moving to the le ft. Thepawls when once in engagement, remain in engagement until the pawltieseap tooth, howsoever the toothed ;1nember move by. reason of varyingdegrees of t noedanger of having the electrical "en'gagebroken, exceptupon a predetermined ,teini perature change in one direction. Tl1e"pi\'- otal'ad ustn'ient of the yoke? 'pei'mits i-the rack fit tobexaried. Thus, as the =yok e 1.

merit of the pawl (3, and their: relation to the rack 4 and also tliedegreet'o whicht ey areout of step can thus be modified. i

this application filed February' 17,

the pawl 6 supports the pawl 5 and there] is Q an electrlcal engagementbetween the two I pawl 6 to escape from the third tooth, therebybreaking the electrical engagement beof the rack 4 to the right.idvhenever the electrical engagement is made or broken one t. peratureoraccident 'lhere is pract cally ment between the pawlsfiand 6 mad cjand moved in either direction, the.1norenient of the pawl 5 would bedifferent from the move withthe lower pawl 6 under certain 'ciris, sothat when the rack 4 is moved, the g toothed member 4 moves, the pawl 5will cuit whose branches are connected to the vThe makingand breakingoperation will be :relativerelations of the pawls 5 and 6. tothe Therack 4 carries a projection lG, which, when the rack moves so as todisengage the pawl 5 from the first tooth, comes over a "notch 17 in thearm 18 of a semaphore 19, permitting the semaphore to swing on its pivot20 and therebyindicate that the thermostat corresponding thereto hasbeen actuated so as to move its rack into the second position.

Where the toothed member 4 is made of conductingmaterial, the parts ofthe pawls 5 and 6 bearing thereon should preferably be made ofinsulating material, as shown in the drawing, so that their engagementwith the toothed member 4 will not establish an electrical connectionbetween their conducting energizethe magnet 21 when the resistance is incircuit. Whemhowever, the pawls 5 and 6 arein electrical engagement, theresistance 25 is short-circuited thereby and the battery 24 thenenergizes the magnet 21. Other thermostats having pawls 5 and 6 can beconnected at various stations, such as 28 and 29, if desired, so thatthe magnet 21 will be operated by whichever thermostatic controller maybe in abnormal'condition.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the controller is on'ewhich ispositive in its actionand which will not permit accidental making orbreaking of electrical engagement due to jar, vibration or other causesso as to send in undesired signals. It will positively both close andopen the circuit through the magnet 21 fongiven degrees of temperaturevarying in one direction only.

The, rack 4, t gether with the pawls 5 and 6 adapted to engage said rackand each other, constitutes a quick positively acting switch,controlling the terminals of the circuit of the battery ated by amovement of the thermostat in one direction but not by a movement in theother direction, and wheneverso actuated produces a plurality ofalternate makes and breaks upon apredetermined movement of thethermostat, so that for successive degrees of temperature the circuit ismade and broken. Thus with the arrangement shown, the circuit can bemade three times as the temperature increases. It is not, however,affected by a decrease in temperature. The quick action eliminates thedanger of a Sneaking'forfalse contact, and assures a .positive andpermanent contact when a given temperature is attained- My n'iventlonpermits of Various modifica 24. The switch is actu-' tions withoutdeparting from the spirit thereof, and I do not limit it to the particlelar embodiment shown in the drawings.

' This ap lication is a division of my ap-. vplication er. No. 461,452filed November 7, 1908f What I claim is: 1. The combination of switchlocked against movement in one direction, circuit terminals controlledthereby,

a quick acting,

terminals, movable means for electrically connecting and disconnectingsaid terminals,

and a thermostatic couple acting to move said means positively to varythe electrical connections between said terminals only during anincrease in temperature.

3. The combination of a thermostat, a ciricuit having contacts connectedtherewith,

and means controlled by said thermostat'for electrically connecting saidcontacts upon a given movement of said thermostat, and a semaphorereleased by saidthermostat when moved from its normal position.

4. In an electric system, the combination of a thermostat having aplurality of abnormal positions under various abnormal.

conditions, circuit contacts actuated thereby when in a plurality ofsaid positions, and a semaphore released by said thermostat when in thefirst abnormal position.

5. In an electric system, the combination of a thermostat, a membercarrying teethlike projections moved by said thermostat, two pawlsengaging teeth on said member, the relations of one pawl with its toothdiffering from the relations of the other pawl with its tooth, saidpawls having contact surfaces adapted to be electrically connected anddisconnected by the'movements of said pawls. 4 I

'6. In an electric system, the-combination of a thermostatic couple, amember carrying teeth-like projections moved by said thermo-' staticcouple, two pawls engaging teeth on said member, the relations of onepawl with itstooth differing. from the relations of the other pawl withits tooth, and circuit contacts carried by said pawls and brought intoengagement and disengagement by the movement of said member. I 7. In anelectric-system, the combination of a thermostat, a member carryingteethlike projections adapted to. be moved by said thermostat, a.plurality of pawls engaging" said teeth and out of step with one anotheras said member moves, and a con; tact-carr ed 'by one of said. pawlsand. en

- gaging the other when one pawl leaves a tooth on saidmember, and beingdisengaged when the other pawl leaves a tooth on said member. y

8. In an electric system, the combination of a thermostat, a toothedrack, two pawl's engaging teeth on said rack and located so as to be outof step with one another as the rack is moved longitudinally relativelyto said pawls, said thermostat being adapted toc'ause a relativelongitudinal movement betweensald rack and pawls said paw'ls hav-' ingcontact surfaces adapted to be electric"- ally connected anddisconnected by the movements of said pawls',

9. In an electric system, the combination of a thermostat, a toothedrack moved thereby, two pawls engaging teeth on said rack and located soas to be out of step with one another as the rack is moved, an angularlyadjustable member carrying said pawls, the connections of said pawlswith said memberbeing out of line with one another and at least one ofthem out of line with the axis of adjustment of said member said pawlshaving contact surfaces adapted to be electrically connectedv anddisconnected by the movements of said pawls. I I: 10. In an electricsystem, the combination of a thermostat, a toothed rack moved thereby,two pawls engaging teeth on said rack ,and located so as to be out ofstep with one another as the rack is moved, an angularly adjustablemember to which said p'awls are pivoted, the axes of saidpawls being outof line with one another said pawls having contact surfaces adapted tobe. electrically connected and disconnected. by the move-' H. B.BRoWNnnL, M. E. GARRE'rr.

